Broken Pieces: Master Mender
by Hiddenchopsticks
Summary: Harry finds Bella shortly after arriving on his next world as Master of Death. She was left in the forest and he slowly works to put her emotions and heart back together, but when vampires and Bella are involved, nothing stays so simple for long. So many hurt lives connect to Harry during his quest to return balance to this world. Lucky for them, he is a masterful mender. H/Multi.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I will be adding more characters to the story info as they are introduced to the story, mostly because I am not sure how exactly this will all play out. I know what I want to have happen ultimately, but there is no telling if it will work out like that, or hoes long it will take. For now, Harry/Bella is the pairing for sure. Alice will be put in during chapter 3 and 4, part of which you will get to see now. I am tired of Edward's character, and though there may have to be some kind of deus ex machina thrown in, I feel like it wouldn't be too unbelievable with a route that I am wanting to go... we shall see.

I would love feedback on these first, warming up chapters. Thanks. :)

**SLOW UPDATES! You have been forewarned.**

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**Chapter 1**

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"You'll never see us again, it will be as though we never existed." He stated easily even as my mind rushed to comprehend what it would mean for my unofficial family of vampires to disappear from my life and how badly it would hurt. Like they had never existed? Does he know how much his family has changed my life for the better?

His cold lips pressed into my hair one last time as tears began rolling down my checks and my breath began speeding up. This is his goodbye? Telling me it won't work out between us, that he doesn't love me in the middle of the woods? Tears continued rolling down my cheeks as I realized I knew it would come to this from the beginning; it had always been too good to be true. Our circles were just too different, he was too perfect and I was too plain.

Yet even though I know I can't have him, I want him. Until this point he made me feel wanted, he brought me into his family, even with all of the dangers and the rules of nature it was breaking by us simply being around each other for what I thought was mutual enjoyment.

He turns from me and disappears into the shadows. It's so sudden that it takes me a few seconds before I start moving forward stumbling over the undergrowth even as I push forward in the direction he ran off in, calling out his name. Rain was now dropping heavily onto my head and shoulders as the leaves above me reach their limit of holding the water droplets they had already caught.

Not even caring about my direction or how wet and dirty my clothes were becoming, I continue forward, my voice slowly becoming hoarse from my pleas for him to come back, to give a mere whisper of his direction, to run back and apologize for agreeing to play such a mean prank on me at Emmet's urging...to come kill me as I should have been killed any number of times last year... I sink to the ground, my calls and pleas slowly decreasing in volume as I give myself over to my tears, weariness and despair.

Seconds, minutes, hours, days may have passed without me knowing, but my mind and awareness is called back to the present by something... Movement; not a large amount but enough that I slowly wake up a small amount. My clothes are soaked as bad as they would be if I had jumped into a pool with them on. The chill of the water and air didn't affect my skin in a shocking way since my skin had already reached the same temperature having been wrapped in the cold and wet clothing for so long.

The movement that had awoken me however came from two warm arms that slipped under me and lifted me from the ground. My body instinctively snuggled closer as the warmth began spreading through my clothes and into my mostly frozen limbs. My eyes flutter partially open as sleep tries to reclaim me once more, the warmth beginning to make me comfortable and relax some at the inherent safety it seemed to offer. I fight back the feeling of sleep as best as I can and, through my barely parted eyes, I see a mop of dark and wild hair that partially covered a pair of stunning eyes that almost shine out into the darkness. I try to open my mouth to say something, but I only manage to take a breath before my eyes close once more and sleep reclaims me.

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"_It will be as though we never existed…"_

"_Farewell Bella."_

_The shadowed figure turns and runs away, I give chase and while I am able to keep up, I can't gain any ground. Deep darkness surrounds me on every side and only the shimmer of light from his body allows me to see him still before me. Suddenly he stops and turns to face me, eyes alight with red tinted malice as he looked me over, a twisted smile marring his beautiful face._

"_You were never good enough for me. You could never exist in_ my _world. I don't want you."_

Air comes ripping through my throat as I rocket forward, sitting up from my bed. After a half second I gain control over myself and cut off the scream that had so quickly destroyed the silence that had been lingering in my room. Two pair of footsteps pound up the stairs and I hear as my door hits the wall hard from being opened harshly but not caught before it swung all the way open.

"Bella!" My dad's face comes into focus as he gets closer to my bed and my eyes clear from the dream. He sits on the bed and touches my cheek softly after pushing some of my hair out of the way. He looks intently into my eyes, searching for anything that might explain what was going on. After a moment he quickly draws his hand away with a hesitant look, he had never been one for showing much emotion. The hand moved to my shoulder and rested there gently.

"It's just a nightmare, Bells. Glad to see you've gotten some of your color back. You looked like a corp... like you...I...I thought..." Never before seen, by me at least, tears formed in his eyes and I leaned forward, wrapping my arms around him and coughed uncomfortably. I wasn't one for much emotion either, especially after...this.

"I-" I cough to clear my throat after my failed attempt at speaking, "I'm fine, dad." My voice sounds hollow even to me as I say it. If I didn't feel so numb, I might be upset with Edward at killing me more effectively than James could have with his venom.

I look over Charlie's shoulder from where my head was resting and try to place a name with the face of the person I saw standing near the door. I had been in Forks for a year now and could at least recognize any of the faces I saw, but not this person. Surely Charlie wouldn't let some stranger into out house...unless he was the one that found me, but the young man standing before me didn't have dark, wild hair or deep green eyes like the person that found me…_or was that just a dream?_

The young man stiffened slightly and gave me a forced smile. It was the kind of response..._he_ would have after hearing something from his siblings he didn't like and didn't want me to know about. The kinds of things Alice would usually tell me about afterwards anyways.

I continued looking at him and didn't notice Charlie beginning to get uncomfortable at the continued hug. He pulled away after a few more moments and caught me looking at the other occupant standing near the door.

"Bella, this is Harry. He had been going for a walk to stretch his legs after a long drive from Denver and found you. We were searching for you about the same time and he heard our shouts and carried you to where we were. By the way, what the heck do you think you were doing so far out into the woods. Didn't I tell you to stay out of them? Multiple times?"

Pain and tears filled my eyes as I looked at the sheets and comforter on my bed as my thoughts went back, _again_, to the reason I was out there. Charlie wrapped a soothing arm around my shoulders and apologized, "You had me worried, Bells. None of your friends had seen you, I couldn't get ahold of the Cullen's and then I was told from the Hospital that they had left town and it was a couple hours after dusk. We were out there searching for an hour before Harry showed up. He said you were passed out on the ground. Bells, what happened?" He said half frantically as he probably began reliving his fears during the search part of the way through talking. I looked at him, feeling numb even more than when I had first showed up and I saw Charlie visibly flinch at the look on my face, I saw it slightly mirrored in his irises and I could see a blank, almost dead look on my face.

Harry shifted in my peripherals and he coughed slightly, "Chief Swan? It is probably best if we let her get some more sleep. Let her body start building back up its strength. Being cold that long will probably mess with her immune system; she needs to get her rest and energy back up so that this doesn't last longer than it needs to." Harry said softly. His hand seemed to twitch slightly and I felt the wave of sleepiness wash over me again. He moved forward and held out a teacup I hadn't seen when he came in.

"I've found drinking hot tea before I sleep sometimes keeps me from dreaming when I need to get a full night of rest." He said as the cup of tea was now in my reach. Tiredly, I reach up and take the warm cup from him and take a few sips. It was sweetened just right and the tea wasn't too strong. My eyes continued to droop more and more, I feel him take the cup from me as Charlie helps me lie back on the bed and then he pulls the covers up to my shoulders. Charlie smoothed out the sheets and then leaned forward and kissed my forehead softly before patting my shoulder and standing back up.

My eyes close fully and I fight for a few more moments to keep from sleep. I hear the two move towards my door and just before I fully go to sleep I hear Harry's voice state softly, "Sleep well, Bella."

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The next time I woke the sky was just beginning to lighten outside my partially drawn curtains. The first thing I realized as I sat up was I did not have any dreams during my sleep, none that I could remember at least. I was very relieved and felt relaxed...until the memories rolled around and the numbness came rushing back. I looked around my room and saw my dad slumped over, snoring lightly, in the chair _he _would always sit in during visits. I let out a heavy sigh and started to move my blankets off of me to get out of bed until I heard a soft knock on my door.

"Come in." I said softy so as not to wake my dad. The door opened slowly and Harry stepped into the room with an embarrassed smile on his face.

"I must say, it is very strange being in a stranger's house for a couple days straight when I've only known them for the couple days I've been _in_ the house." He joked quietly, "Your dad told me to make myself at home, one again, really weird feeling, so I made some more tea. Thought you might like some?" He said while holding out another cup with warm tea steaming slightly in it. I reach out and take the offered cup from him. He motions to a portion of my bed near my feet, "May I?" He asks and, after receiving my nod, he eases himself onto the bed silently, looking out the uncovered part of window.

The silence that developed between us is surprisingly comfortable even though we know nothing about each other. My eyes trail around the room before fixing on my father. It looked like there were bags under his eyes and that sleeping position couldn't be good on his neck.

Seemingly knowing my thoughts, Harry speaks up, "He hasn't left the room for anything other than to use the restroom. That was one of the main reasons I took him up on his offer to stay. The other was he tried to make dinner the first night and whether it was because he was distracted or he's just that bad at cooking, I didn't prefer to have him end up needing a trip to the hospital because of some poorly cooked food." A slight smile creeps across my face; thinking about my dad's cooking...abilities, or disabilities maybe. Disastrous is one of the nicer descriptions for it.

I started to speak and while my throat is scratchy and rough, the tea helped to where I was understandable, "He's always been dreadful at cooking according to mom. Even back before my parents got married, and from what I saw the first week and a half back with him, getting divorced didn't help him get any better." I said wryly. "I love him to death though, bad cooking or not."

Harry gave me a soft smile, "He seems like a great man from the times I have gotten to speak with him. He has been so worried about you, especially when you didn't wake up the first day after we brought you back home. He called in a nurse from the hospital and calmed down some when she told him your vitals were normal and that you most likely just needed some sleep to recuperate and as I said, he hasn't left the room for more than a few minutes."

I gasp softly, "How long have I been sleeping?" I ask in concern, Charlie, while he didn't show it outwardly very often, could be a very caring person and I knew he worked extra hard to take care of me.

"Just a couple days. Two and a half technically since we brought you back Friday evening, so it's a 'Happy Monday Morning' to you." He said with a sarcastic and blatant false cheeriness to his voice, "Not sure about you, but I always used to dread Monday mornings, especially when I woke up this early."

I groan, "If I pretend that I'm still sleeping, would you rat me out or let my dad think I hadn't woken up yet so I don't have to go to school today?" I ask him.

He chuckles lightly, "How about we tell him that you have woken up so he won't still be worried about you as much and ask if he'll let you take the day off? You would like that a little better anyways, wouldn't you Chief Swan?" Harry asked as he turned to look at Charlie who caught my eye as he started moving around while waking up slowly. His eyes snapped open as Harry finished the question and he locked onto my face. Concern and relief washed over his features as he hopped up from the chair.

"Bella!" He exclaimed as he made his way over. His eyes flicking to Harry for a moment, "I've told you, Harry, call me Charlie." Charlie got to the side of my bed and gave me a hug, "Glad to see you're finally awake Bells." He said with a slightly strained smile on his face. He was tired and it was showing clearly in his eyes and on his face.

There was a silence between the three of us before Harry began moving towards the door, "Charlie, how about you come lock the door behind me and you and Bella take the day off? You need to catch up on your rest, Bella here needs to adjust to being among the _living_ again and I have to go take care of the last pieces of enrollment for school before it starts and then find a house around here to live in after school ends."

I allow my eyes to flash over to him as he stressed the word 'living' but decided to brush it off as he continued on without much pause or consideration.

"You and Bella are cool and all, but I can only couch surf so much while riding the dream waves, not that I'm not appreciative of the hospitality, but all the same. A good bed beats most couches six times out of ten, though I have found some really nice couches before." He said with a smirk.

I tilt my head in confusion while Charlie laughs softly and shakes his head, "Only if you will come back sometimes to cook. Bells is a great cook, but you have a different way of cooking that is interesting, I bet you and Bells could have some fun inventing some dishes in the kitchen." Charlie stands and moves towards the door, following Harry out of the room.

"Get lots of rest Bella, I'll make you some more tea later this evening, it should help you sleep a little easier and keep the nightmares at bay. I had some nightmares myself that is usually helped against and I really appreciated getting a full night's rest. Hope it helped the last couple nights. Good meeting you even though it was under less than ideal circumstances." Harry said as he made his way down the stairs. I looked over at the clock and saw it was nearing 7:30am. I rolled out of bed and walked over to the window, peaking out of the mostly drawn curtains, I saw Harry and Charlie shake hands before Harry turned and walked towards a nice but inconspicuous car parked outside the driveway. Just as Harry was about to get in his car he looked up at my bedroom window, right at me, and winked before climbing in his car and driving away.

The following day passed rather slowly I received a call from Jessica shortly after three asking where I was all day before she launched into talking about the 'gorgeous new guy' that I had missed out on meeting. Harry had apparently been invited to sit with the group I normally sat with when I wasn't with..._them_... Probably should have warned him about that group. Angela and Ben were really nice, two of my favorite people; Jessica could be decent when she wasn't being jealous or shallow. Lauren was nothing but jealous and petty it seemed, while the boys were just plain annoying most of the time.

My mind drifted back to what I remembered seeing when I woke for a few seconds while I was being carried back from the woods. Whoever it was had a chaotic mop of hair that got into their deep green eyes, but Harry was the one Charlie was saying had brought me in, but Harry didn't meet that description at all, he had short, styled, brown hair with light blue eyes beaming out from his face. He was very attractive, but he didn't match what I remembered seeing. Maybe I had been dreaming after all…

I had stayed in my bed for a couple hours before getting up and around the house around 10. I did some cleaning and laundry before stopping for a bit to make up some food for lunch. Not really feeling like cleaning up any more, I settled in on the couch with one of the new fiction books I had picked up on my last trip to Port Angeles. It was here that Jessica's phone call had found me and then, a few minutes after I got off the phone with, a knock on the door surprised me. I sighed, marking my place and standing up after setting my book down. When I reached the door, I found Harry standing outside the door. A small smile crawled onto my face as I unlocked the door and opened it, I would have to see what he thought about some of my first friends at Forks that he had just met today.

"Good afternoon, looks like you stayed pretty busy today, house looks much cleaner. Your dad up yet?" Harry asked. I shook my head while replying, "He's slept straight through as far as I know and trust me, if he had woken up yet, I would know. He's missed breakfast _and_ lunch." I said, it was a little worrying, but if he had been up as much as I thought he was to watch over me, it would make sense.

"He'll probably be up soon so you won't have to worry about him too much more. He'll probably need to try to go back to sleep a little while after dinner though so his sleep schedule doesn't get messed up too bad. I brought a box of my tea over for you. Half of them are the kind I gave you a couple nights ago, the other half are the kind I gave you this morning. I would suggest you don't mix those two up if you don't want your sleep schedule messed up also so I have them marked 'Day' and 'Night'. Have your dad try some of the 'Night' tea tonight before you go to sleep. There are some ingredients in the nighttime one that will help you sleep better, and no, there are no drugs in it before you or your dad ask." He handed the split box of tea over to me with a small smirk on his face.

I motion for him to come in while I turn towards the kitchen, "So how was your first day at Forks High, Harry?" I ask as I move to put away the new tea.

"Interesting. It is very different from my previous schools." He said with another infuriating smirk that makes you feel like you are missing out on an inside joke. It was enough to give me the idea that there was more to what he was saying, but not enough to really call him on it so I nodded in response and turned to give him a mischievous smile, "Any girls catch your eye?"

Harry's knowing smirk widened considerably as he replied, "Nope. I have a hard time finding anyone of interest that is the right age." He said, still seeming to hint at something but I don't have the context to understand.

"Ahh, so are you an older or younger kind of guy then?" I asked. Either would easy to give him a hard time about.

"Oh, no, I prefer them to be my age. I just haven't found anyone of interest that _is_ my age yet." He clarified and I gave a small pout, "You're no fun." I said before deciding to continue on with where I had been trying to go from the beginning of this topic, "The reason I ask is because I got a call about you today. Not even five minutes after school let out. Apparently you made an impression." I said with a sing-song voice at the end mockingly while I started washing the few dishes I hadn't caught in my cleaning earlier.

Harry moved and grabbed a towel to dry off the dishes I had washed and I caught a glimpse of a grimace out d the corner of my eye, "A Miss Stanley, I presume? I thought I had escaped most of the students' attention since most of the day's talk was of how you and the students from the Cullen family were gone on a day that wasn't sunny." I nearly dropped the plate that I was about to hand to Harry when he brought up my..._that_ family... Thankfully Harry was able to catch it with some impressive reflexes, not that I really noticed...

"Bella, you alright?" Harry asked though I barely heard the question.

I hadn't forgotten, but the day seemed to mostly push it to the side of my mid to where I was able to continue on like normal. Him bringing it back up however brought the memories and pain to the front of my mind and the numbness settled back in. I nod absentmindedly and turn from the sink, water still running, my mind shutting down, trying to dull the emotional pain and heartache. The coldness from the night and rain seems to settle back in over my body, the coldness of _his_ eyes flashing through my mind.

Then warmth begins to spread through my arm as Harry lightly places a hand on it in a comforting way. The feeling of cold and numbness flees, but the pain is still there, though it doesn't seem debilitating like it had a few seconds ago. There was hope still, and even though he didn't know the whole story, Harry had been there for me since the whole thing started, I wasn't alone...

Harry gave my arm a light squeeze and then stepped towards the front door, "Tell your dad hi for me and make sure he gets some of that tea. I'll see you at school tomorrow." And with that he was gone from the house. I watch as he walks over to his car. Part of me was thankful he left so quickly while another part was just hurting. I appreciated him being here, but I didn't want to cry in front of him. Tears began slipping down my cheeks though it wasn't as bad as it has been before. I clench my fists as I turn away from the window and feel a piece of paper crinkle as I do.

I open my hand to find a small piece of notebook paper that had been torn off roughly. The words, 'You're strong, and you are going to come through this, no matter the pain and darkness you feel now. If there's anything you need, give me a call.' A number was written just below the message and then signed with an HP. I looked back out the window towards where he usually parked but the car was already gone. My eyes closed and I squeezed the piece of paper tighter. Many people might think the note was cheesy, but it was exactly what I needed right at this time.

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The next few weeks passed quickly at times but slowly the rest of the time. Having Harry around helped some since it was a reminder that he was there, but even that wasn't much help sometimes. When I was alone, Harry was making sure to keep me stocked with the tea, though he said he was almost out and it would be a while before he could get more so I started drinking it less often. The biggest shift was the nightmares that began making occasional appearances now. I felt sorry for Charlie; he would always be in there to wake me up from it, shaking me awake, brining in a bath towel to wipe away the sweat that was soaking my forehead, comforting me as I woke, trying to discern the dream from real life.

Jake called a couple times and he and his dad visited ever so often. We would talk and it seemed like Jacob had gained a little more courage and, unfortunately, forwardness since…the Cullens left. There was a visual cuteness to him, he was definitely rippling with muscles now and the long hair was attractive, but there was still a very large, childish side to him. His actions grew annoying by the end of their visit and I was always relieved to see him go. Perhaps if I had been hurting, I would have appreciated the attention he was giving, but I had some relief during the nights because of the amazing tea Harry had been supplying and…he made it hurt less when he was around. Just knowing that he was around and cared about what was going on.

There were a couple times where I would meet him outside the cafeteria, not wanting to go in and be around all the people and he would smile lightly at me, held up a finger and grabbed some food for us before coming back out to join me for lunch. He got me on a level that I didn't really expect and had never experienced before. Sure, Edward could read most people's minds, but not mine. The treatment that Harry was giving me was closer to what I would have expected if Edward could have read my mind. It wasn't done in a weird way though, he just seemed to understand what I was dealing with and was able to make very good guesses at what I was wanting.

Mike, Jess, Angela, Ben, and Eric were mostly welcoming, more so on the parts of Jess and Angela. It was usually nice being back around then, Lauren was being a bitch, as usual, but I enjoyed talking with Angela and Ben again. Harry being around helped me be drawn out of my shell.

Two weeks after I ran out of tea, Harry came over after school and asked me to go on a walk with him. I had gotten to know him a little better with him being around nearly two and a half months now and saw him as a great older brother figure…slightly. I had talked with him some about what was going on, but what can I really tell him? 'Hey Harry, I was dating a vampire for about a year and then he led me into the woods to break up with me and then left town with his family shortly after. By the way a different vampire bit me last year to spite my ex. He had to drink the venom out of my blood so I wouldn't turn into a vampire like him while his family ripped the other vampire and burned him. I fell in love, he left and now I'm broken hearted.' …Yeah that will go over great. Something told me though that this walk would be different from the ones we usually went on though.

Harry glanced around for a couple seconds before turning to me, "Alright Bella, I had hoped things would have gotten better by the time you ran out of the tea I made you but your dad talked with me yesterday. Haven't you talked with anyone about what is going on?" He asked gently. My heart stopped for a few seconds in fear.

"Uhhhh..." Was all I managed to get out at first and Harry's serious mood broke for a few seconds as he chuckled.

"I don't need to know specifics Bella. But..." He took a deep breath and hesitated for a few moments, before continuing, "Listen, after I turned 11, I stopped going to school like most kids and got a quick introduction to a world that...didn't seem possible. A little while later I started traveling all over and during those travels I saw many different...beings, if you catch my drift. I won't ask questions, I won't tell any secrets, and I won't be caught off guard. I will promise you however; the Cullen family's status as vampires is the least shocking thing I have ever run across."

I could feel the surprise and worry on my face about their secret being out. Harry must have seen it since he chuckled and motioned for me to pause and calm down as he continued speaking.

"I knew the first time I met you what they were, seeing as how he was right next to you one moment and then a blur leaving the next. I had been in the woods during that whole time after all even though I wasn't close enough to hear what was being said. I had been hoping though that you would have someone else who was in the know so that you could talk to them, or were working on a feasible story to tell one of your friends at school and let some of this out. You haven't though, and Charlie is worried about you because of it."

I open my mouth to dispute the fact that I was having a tough time because I haven't talked about it, but he holds up his hand to stop me. "You have no outlet for the pain, by internalizing it rather than talking about it, you leave the only release point as your dreams. The tea that I made for you, yes I _made_ it, had a few ingredients to keep you from dreaming, but extended and continued use of it will cause an addiction to it to where you can't sleep without it. It is also not healthy to never have dreams. When you didn't stop having nightmares, I knew it was because you hadn't talked to anyone about it yet. So," He motioned around himself and I found the two of us at a small house that I hadn't noticed before, "Why don't you come in, have a sit down and we'll talk through this. The hard part on the explaining side of, 'my ex is a vampire' has already been dealt with, so now it's just wading through...everything else..." he said the last bit with a soft huff and made his way to the door.

I followed him inside and he directed me to a couch before moving off to the kitchen/dining room that opened up into where I was sitting. A few moments later he came back with a cup of tea, I look at it dubiously and he chuckles at my expression, "No special additives, I swear on my life." A soft glow lit up the room in the corner of my vision near where he was at and I look around. Harry coughs lightly and says, "I think a car just drove past, reflected some sunlight in." I nod and take a sip of the tea, it definitely tasted different, but it was still very good.

We sat in silence for a few moments while I gathered my thoughts. My mind wondered at just who he was, he knew things most people didn't...but I couldn't focus on that right now, I was on the verge of exploding from the need to talk to someone openly about, well, everything.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

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I took a deep breath and started. "I had just moved here, first day of school and I'm doing my best to make it through the day without falling down too much or let the stares and whispers get to me...lunch rolls around and there are these five, gorgeous people sitting at one of the lunch tables, just sitting with food in front of them. I heard their 'background' from Jessica and after lunch had class with him." I chuckle darkly, "That first day he almost killed me. My blood was more appealing to him than any he had smelled before apparently and he had to keep himself from killing me as well as the rest of the classroom that entire hour until he could get away from me. To make the long boring first part of this story short, we ended up dating. I lo-...really liked him, so that mostly won over the logical side of my brain. I got to know his family really well, fell in love with them really, except Rosalie, but anyways, the family took me to play baseball the night of a storm and there was a group of nomads that heard them. They talked for a little while before catching my scent and started to get ready to attack me, but the Cullens jumped in front of me to protect me. The three nomads left, but Ed-..._he_ said that James, was going to hunt me down and kill me. He ended up chasing me to Arizona, back to my where I grew up after mom left Charlie. I had slipped away to save my mom, who I later found out he didn't have..."

I took a deep calming breath, the first part wasn't any trouble to talk about, it was the following parts that still hurt... Harry's hand rested on my shoulder gently and then he wrapped his arm around my shoulders in a show of support. I leaned into the embrace, while I loved my dad, he just didn't understand that sometimes I needed to be held, even though neither of us enjoy showing our emotions very much, I missed my mother's hugs...

"He bit me, James did. The Cullens had found where I had gone after I slipped away from them and when they got there they fought James off for a little bit before he slipped through them and bit me." I showed him where the bite was and he traced it lightly with his thumb. "_He_ came over and sucked the blood that had the venom in it out. It hurt like nothing I had experienced before. Then...I passed out and then the next thing I know, I'm waking up in a hospital bed." Harry and I both shiver at the mention of hospitals and we give a chuckle at the similar reaction. I took a breath and thought for a moment about what had happened next when it hit me. I gasp softly and Harry looks at me curiously, "I just remembered this. _He_ tried to leave me shortly after I woke up. He brushed it off like he had nowhere else to go after I tried to talk him out of it, but he tried to leave me. Said it was no good for him to be around him and his family because I had gotten hurt."

My anger started to boil slightly, "Things got back to normal with all of us after I came back here, but once my birthday came up I asked them not to throw a party and yet they throw a party. I was opening presents and accidentally got a paper cut on my finger from the wrapping. Edward threw me to the side and flew into a mirror because Jasper had lost control and rushed towards me when the smell of blood hit him. The mirror I was thrown into gashed into me and made me bleed even more which caused the whole family to have to leave so they wouldn't attack me also... Edward took me home and dropped me off. A few days later..." My anger started to fade, though it was on a low simmer in the back of my mind, "A few days later, _he_ came over, led me into the woods and...said it wouldn't work out, that I was no good for him. And then he left." A soft sob escaped from my throat before it slowly began to build.

My mind continued where my words left off while trying to hold myself together. He left, after he told me in the hospital that he had nowhere else to go, and then he tells me I'm not good enough and that it wouldn't work out. Asking me to forget about him and his family, act like they had never been there. Even when the tide rolls out from the beach and the waves are gone, the sand has forever been changed...he's lived for too long if he things that things like having a vampire family love you like their own will just fade away if they disappear. Maybe if I lived a few centuries like he did it would go away but otherwise no. I'm some plain, weak, accident-prone human that he decided couldn't be in his world after I had already been thrown into it by his lust and my cursed curiosity and attraction. My tears continued to flow as Harry tightened his hug around me, I turned into his should and let the tears flow.

Time passed without my noticing, though I did notice that I was finally crying myself dry, my throat becoming a little hoarse from the uncommon and strained use of my voice. I looked up at Harry and he gave a soft, understanding smile to me and kissed the top of my head and we just sat in silence for a few minutes. Harry cleared is throat after a little while, "You are a strong young woman, Isabella Marie Swan. Look at you, running with vampires and coming out almost the same amount human as you went in. You did get bit so I can't give you the 100% award unfortunately, but I'll give you 95%. Fair trade?" He joked lightly.

I give a half laugh in spite of myself, "I think it should be a bit higher than that, after all, no matter how far the venom got, it did all come back out." I said with a fake offense tone to my voice. It was still going to be considered a touchy subject for a while, but the talk, and (dare I admit it) the cry, both helped ease the pain some. Especially since Harry hasn't run to the phone to call the closest asylum.

Harry stilled next to me for a few moments before asking lightly, "What would you do if they were to come back for some reason?" He asked, a slight strain to his voice.

"Umm...why?" I asked, confused mostly, but slightly fearful about why he would ask such a random question unless...

"Just wondering." He said though he silently began to stand up and motioned for me to be silent, and then motioned for me to keep talking or something, I give him a confused look and he drops his shoulders dramatically before asking another question, a couple of his fingers moving slightly while his hand hung at his side, "The main reason I ask is so I can know whether I need to get a lighter, or just get out of your way or just let them come into the house." He said as he slowly crept towards the window. His fingers twitched a few more times while he looked out the window. The only problem with him 'looking' was the curtains were still pulled so unless he could see through solid objects, he would be studying the curtains very closely.

I still hadn't answered yet as I watched him 'look' out the window, but he wasn't paying any attention to me. After a few more seconds he turns back to me with a confused look on his face, "I know how you would react for the most part I think if your ex was to come back, but how about Alice, Rosalie, or Esme? Were there any other girls that were with the coven?" He asked in a conversational tone that he had before he started acting strange and I was even more confused. The two of us had talked about the Cullen girls before and he knew...wait, he said coven. "No, the only other female vampire I met was Victoria and the two of us probably aren't on speaking terms if you catch my drift. She was James' mate." I said. Harry's eyes widen slightly and he glances back towards the curtains.

"Remind me what she looked like?" Harry asked in a nonchalant tone though his face was speaking of a very different emotion. It was calculating and focused. I stopped for a few moments and thought back to when I saw her in the clearing with the Cullens. "She had long, wavy red hair, a little wild, some sticks and leaves in it. Blood red eyes and she seemed to stand and walk like a cat. It was pretty scary really."

Harry 'hmmed' in response, his fingers twitching like mad and his face staying fixed in a thoughtful look. His eyes returned to the still closed curtains and I slowly began losing my patience, _what the heck is going on?_ Harry started speaking again though at a much softer pitch, "I would probably be scared also, doesn't sound like a pretty picture."

"Harry-" I start but he cuts me off.

"Look I know it's not very manly to say that I'm scared of a girl, but it is a vampire after all, and now that your guardian angels are gone, there isn't much we would be able to do against one." He said getting a little louder again and making his voice sound upset though his face was still calculating and turned towards the closed windows. A smirk grew on his face before turning back to me and motioning for me to stay quiet and stay where I was. I give a huff and throw my arms up in a show of giving up my curiosity for the moment. Harry creeps towards the far door that is situated behind where we had been sitting and backs up against the wall next to it like he was waiting for someone to..._come in!_

The door blasts open and I give a shriek, close my eyes and cover my head. I hear a grunt and a hiss before the sound of concrete being broken and a screeching noise and a feminine yell starts and then abruptly ends. I hear a few more cracks before a few seconds of silence and then the whoosh of a flame. I pop my head back up over the back of the couch and see Harry standing over a pile of body parts that have been set ablaze _inside_ his house but the red of the flame can't hide the red head of hair lying on the top of the pile. Victoria had come and Harry had somehow destroyed her... I look at him and he gives me a reassuring smile, like nothing had happened out of the ordinary. No, he didn't just destroy a vampire with what looks like his bare hands, of course not, why would I even think that...maybe because he is standing over the now ashes of a crazy vampire who just busted into his house with no weapons in his hands.

"Bella, there is a fire extinguisher just inside the kitchen, would you mind grabbing it for me?" He asked calmly, not letting his focus move from the burning pile before him. I nod my head and quickly scurried to the kitchen, bring back the large red container and hand it to him before scooting back again, watching, like him, as the fire continued to burn. Harry sprayed around the edges of where the fire had touched and kept the fire contained around what had once been Victoria's body. My phone started ringing. I dug my phone out trying to think of who it might be, Charlie had gone on a fishing trip so he didn't have his phone, none of the people from school know my number...I look at the caller ID and see that it says it is an unknown number, I say this out loud and Harry motions for me to hand him the phone. He motions for me to be quiet, flips open the phone and presses the speaker button on it, "Hello?" He says

"Is Bella there?" A silky voice greets him from the other side of the line. My eyes widen at the voice and I mouth 'Edward' to Harry. He nods.

"No, I was just hanging out with her and one minute she was here, the next thing I know, I saw a flash of red and then she was gone. If it hadn't been moving so fast I could have sworn it was a woman...but...nobody can move that fast..." Harry's voice slowly took on more and more of a panicked tone to it. "Who is this, can you help? Do you know her? Do you understand what is going on?" He perfectly made his voice sound like he was completely desperate for help or information.

"No, I can't help. If she is gone like you say, then there is nothing that can be done." The voice on the other end of the line hummed and spoke softer, "By this point, it will be too late to help her, but I do have a red haired woman that I should go talk to, she just lost me my play toy." Edward growled on the other side of the phone though it seemed like it was supposed to be more to himself than something Harry and I should have heard. He continued right on with his musings however, "I figured it was a possibility that Victoria would go after her, but it wasn't very likely to be this soon...guess I really should have been going after Victoria before I started living it up the months I was away from the family 'hunting for her.'"

Harry made a silly face at me slightly as he made a whimpering noise into the phone. He smiled concernedly as he saw a small smile cross my face, but the smile didn't stay there for long. The gravity of Edwards words crashed over me as Harry continued. "There's nothing you're going to do then?" He asked in a small voice.

A curse comes from the other line and then the call ended. The anger that had dropped to a low simmer was now back full force, _he knew when he left...there wasn't any caring emotion to his voice...it...he..._

The anger quickly burned out and tears sprung up in my eyes again as I stumbled towards Harry, seeking comfort. His strong arms wrapped around me, holding me up as my knees start to give out. I hate being like this, but how else can I really react to this. Harry moves me back over to the couch and sits me down beside him. He keeps one arm wrapped around me, pulling me into his chest while the other hand strokes my hair softly in a calming manner, and I feel a slowly growing wave of sleepiness overtake me. Both of Harry's arms wrap around me and I snuggle into him, feeling safe and at peace for the first time in a while.

* * *

The fog starts lifting and I hear Harry speaking softly to someone. "Yeah, she has been resting pretty well… No, no dreams which is a very good thing though we may not be fully out of the woods yet…Yes sir, she is welcome to stay here till later this evening, and don't worry about coming to pick her up, I'll be coming into town for some groceries anyways so I can drop her off at you house… That sounds great, I would love to get some dinner with you two… Yes sir, I'll see you then… Bye."

Harry brought his phone down from his face and ended the call. I shifted some to let him know that I was awake. He patted my arm gently and let his fingers trail through my hair again, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling and snuggled my face a little deeper into his well-toned chest. I sighed softly and enjoyed the comfort I was feeling in Harry's arms.

"Sleep well? You definitely didn't make much noise or move much." Harry said softly.

I nodded in response.

Moving to another part of the house I see the blackened stain from where the fire was at earlier when Harry killed Victoria. Thinking back, I turn to him, "Harry? How…how did you do it? You're just a normal human, or at least your not a different temperature or show any signs of being something other than a human aside from this. I thought only vampires could kill vampires. I didn't think there was anything else strong enough to do it…" I say softly, trying to wrack my brain to think about anything strange I have noticed from Harry that might give any inkling to the fact that he was anything other than a human.

"How about you stay sitting down right there for a moment and let your brain catch up to being fully awake. I'll go get us some more tea and I'll explain then." Harry answered after a few seconds of looking at me. I give a nod in return and he stands up and moves to the kitchen.

I think back to the run in with Victoria before I fell asleep and tried to make sense of it all. I hadn't really seen anything other than the door being blasted open since I had ducked behind the couch, but it sounded like Harry just fought her off, but how is that possible for a normal person, and what was he doing before she came in while seeming to look out the curtains even though they were closed? My thoughts are interrupted as Harry walks back in carrying two cups of steaming tea. He sits down and places a cup in front of me.

"Go ahead and drink up. Now, you asked how I was able to kill Victoria as a normal human? Simple, during my travels, as I told you, I have run into many different races and beings. During my interaction with these different creatures, I have learned from them, or learned from others how to fight them. It has been extremely beneficial to me as it helps me stay safe in times where I normally wouldn't have been.

"I'm sure you have heard of Martial Arts, correct?" He asks and I nod so he continues, "Well what I did when Victoria came in was something similar. There are techniques that you can learn that will use a person's own force and movements against them without exerting hardly any force. Granted, I have had to learn some special 'conditioning' to be able to deal with vampiric strength but overall it is quite simple. Plus I had the element of surprise. She thought I wasn't a threat and that she would be able to just come in and take you." Harry explained easily, but it seemed like there was a little more to it than just that. My mind didn't dwell on it however since I was curious about the whole curtain thing.

"Alright, so what was the deal with you looking out the curtains like you knew what was out there? I know the curtains were closed though so there was no way you saw out of them unless you looked through them." I state stubbornly and he gives a mischievous smile in response before standing up.

"Come over here with me. It is one of my favorite things about this house. I had to spend quite a bit of money for them, but these curtains are see through if you stand in the right spot. I enjoy my privacy and if someone comes over, I like to know who it is before I open the door, or I may not open if I don't want to. The best part though is that you can't see in through them no matter where you stand." He pulled me over towards a certain spot as he spoke. I saw his fingers twitch slightly in the corner of my eye as I reached the spot he was pulling me to and the curtains took on a slightly transparent look, allowing me to see out of them.

I looked back at him with a shocked expression and he gave me a humored smile in return. "Hey, I have had more than a few run-ins with some unsavory types, I have to live smart." He chuckled out, "Now, I need to do some groceries shopping and your dad wants to check in on you and have dinner together. Ready to go?" He asks as he walks towards the kitchen to grab his light jacket from earlier.

I nod and grab mine from the back of the couch after he gets back in and the two of us make our way out the door. Shortly before we reach the door there is a knock. Harry stretches a hand over and makes me stop a little ways behind him and motions for me to be quiet.

Harry settles into a defensive stance and moves forward slowly, a focused look on his face. He turns the handle and lets the door swing open as he takes a couple steps backwards quickly. A gasp escapes my lips and I rush forward to wrap my arms around the figure standing in the doorway with a smile and shout on my lips.

"Alice!" I say as I come into contact with her hard body and my arms wrap around her. Hers wrap around me and I hear her breath out a sigh of relief along with my name. Her hug is very tight, but not painfully so. It was just enough that I know she was worried and missed me like I missed her.

"I'm so sorry Bella, I'm so, so sorry we left you. Edward told us it was the best thing to do and we just went with it. He had told us you decided we were too dangerous for us. I didn't look to see if it was true because he was in a really bad mood and we usually keep our distance from him during those times. I saw the vision of you being attacked when Victoria made the decision a day or so ago. I panicked and told Rose. She told Edward while I rushed here. I would have gotten back sooner…but…Bella, Edward isn't…he's not…" Her words were lost in a tearless cry for a few moments and I felt movement behind me, reminding me that Harry was still in the room with us.

A comforting hand rested lightly on my shoulder and I saw another of his hands stretch out and rest on Alice's shoulder also. Her sobs turned into a gasp and she looked up quickly. "When did you get here?" She asked with a confused look.

Harry chuckled, "Well I was the one to open the door for you. You don't have to tell us about Edward though, he called shortly after Victoria was taken care of and," He glanced over at me with a sympathetic look in his eyes, "We heard more than he planned for us to." He finished simply. He looked at his watch and sighed, "I'll go grocery shopping later, why don't you come on in, Alice, and you and Bella can catch up. We do have dinner with Charlie tonight though, which I am sure you can join us for Alice, as my guest if nothing else." Harry motioned with his hand back towards the living room and followed us in after shutting the door once more.

I watched s Alice took note of the scorch mark that was clearly apparent on the floor part of the way to the living room and I let out a small chuckle. She looked at me in confusion and I shook my head, wanting to wait for all the explanations to happen at the same time.

We made it into the living room and Alice and I sat down on the loveseat while Harry moved to his recliner. Rocking back and forth slightly, he started off the conversation, "Well, since you probably don't know this already, I am Harry Potter. Bella and I have been friends since…well since you and your family left. When Edward left her in the woods, I was the one that found her." He opened his mouth to continue but Alice cut him off.

"Wait, he left her in the woods?" She shrieked.

"Yeah. He had her follow him out nearly a mile from her house and left her there after telling her you all were leaving." Harry told her and Alice pulled me into her side a little more as her head dropped to my shoulder.

"I'm sorry Bella. We never knew. He told us that we needed to leave and not have any contact or involvement in your life at all so that you would be able to focus on the new life that you chose. He stayed with us for a few weeks and then would disappear for nearly a month. He would come back, his eyes all black and stay a couple days before leaving again. It looked like he was having a really tough time coping. I focused all of my visions on where our family should go next since we were staying with the Denali clan and a few other minor things that would keep me busy so I had never seen what you were doing or what he was doing.

"Bella, he has been killing people. Or at least he did on his way to find Victoria, though he hasn't found her yet." Alice glanced back over at the darkened spot on the floor, "I guess he'll be looking for a while." I placed my hand on one of the arms wrapped around me and gave a light squeeze.

She gave a faint smile and looked back at Harry who decided to continue with the background of everything. "Charlie and I ended up getting along pretty well while we waited around the house for her to wake up. From there, I was mostly focused on schoolwork and making sure she was coping decently well. She wasn't of course. Not having anyone to really talk to about you guys and what she was going through made recovery of any kind exceedingly difficult. I know it was not yours or your family's intention Alice, but she had no one she could fully trust with your secret, so she kept her pain and anger locked away inside.

"That is why she was over here today. She probably wishes I hadn't said half the things I have or what I am about to tell you, but I think you need to know. She has been having nightmares, bad ones, since you all left. She hasn't had a full and restful night of sleep until today without some tea that I made to keep her from having dreams." Harry told her honestly and I gave a halfhearted glare at him.

Alice pulled away from me slightly so that she could look at my face. I looked down slightly as a broken expression came over her face, "I'm sorry Bella." She pulled me into another hug and cried once more as she held me.

"How?" Alice questioned softly, "How were you able to beat Victoria? You're not anything I have ever come across before, but there is something about you. I can't see you in my visions."

I glare accusingly towards Harry and he holds his hands up. He gives a small cuckle and explains. "Alice, to answer your question, I have learned a form of martial arts that uses an opponent's own force and momentum against themselves. I also had the advantage of surprise. I made it sound like I was a helpless person, like she would expect from someone like me and tried to get her to be overconfident. If she had planned a little more, she would have probably found some way to beat me, but I think the moment just got to her head."

His fingers moved slightly and he reached up to his neckline on his shirt and pulled at a string that was apparently around his neck. A medallion slid out from under his shirt and he held it in his palms in out direction. "This is why you can't see me in your visions. As I told Bella shortly before you arrived, I have traveled much, and have met some very interesting people. One of the people I met gave me this after I finished helping out around the village. It offers a few different varieties of protection."

Alice looks at him for a moment, "So me being able to see you or not is completely dependent on whether you wear the pendant or not?"

Harry nodded, but there was a strange look in his eyes at the same time. I would have to find out later what all it was that he was hiding from us, because there was definitely more there than what he said. Alice seemed to have the same thought process, but went with it for now as well.

"Is everyone else coming back? Or are you going to be leaving again? What happens next?" I asked, trying to get any idea on whether I was going to be hurting again in a few hours or days, or if the family was coming back, or if just her and Jasper were coming back. My next question died on my lips as she broke down and began crying tearlessly.

"Edward…he…and Jasper…but I, and now..." Alice sobbed out and I froze. Alice never responded like that, she was calm and collected, at the very least, if not outright happy and chipper in less serious situations. Thankfully Harry was not as paralyzed by her response as me and he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Alice reached up and clasped onto Harry's hand firmly and pulled herself to him. Responding easily, Harry wrapped his still free hand around the shaking body of the pixie vampire and held her comfortingly, much like he had for me a few hours earlier. He spoke quietly into her ear, soft enough that I couldn't hear it, but I knew it would be almost like him speaking normally to Alice.

He must have said the right thing because she began to calm down. Her face was still twisted in an expression of pain and loss and it gripped my heart. Something happened because of Edward. I kept silent and Alice began speaking shortly after gaining her composure a little more. "I had the vision of you being attacked. I raced to the house and told Rosalie before sprinting off to get here as soon as I could to try and stop it. I knew I wouldn't reach you in time and I would get here after the fact so I could only hope and pray that you would be alright. Halfway here I had to stop for a moment though because I got another vision… Edward…when Rosalie told him my vision of you, he went crazy and muttered that he was going to have to come and stop me since I had no right to go against his orders. Ja–jasper was nearby and tried to use his gift to calm Edward down, but that only made Edward angrier.

"He…Edward… a–attacked Jasper, out of the blue, ripped him completely apart while the rest of my family watched in stunned horror. They didn't have any time to react and only Emmet was able to move by the time Edward fi…stopped. Emmet rushed forwards and attacked Edward, mostly to try and run him off so that the rest of the family could try and get Jasper put back together, he hadn't been burned or anything so it wasn't unheard of. Rosalie joined Emmett in fighting off Edward and he ran off. Esme and Carlisle still hadn't moved from where they had been, Esme was crying and Carlisle was just looking ahead in shock."

Another tearless sob racked her body, "They couldn't save him, even with biting where the pieces of skin joined to try and encourage the healing. It was just too much damage."

I held the woman I saw as my adopted sister, even though they left, and tried to comfort her as much as I could. She was still clinging to Harry and my mind randomly thought about how good of a listener and comforter he was for the two of us. It was amazing how reassuring just his presence was, and I could say that from experience.

"I'm sorry about your mate, Alice." I said quietly. She humorlessly gave a half chuckle through her sadness and shook her head.

"We were a couple, but it was one of ease and comfort. Our relationship was never like Carlisle and Esme's love or Emmett and Rosalie's. We had just traveled together for so long that it was simple and easy. I wouldn't have pretended to be a couple with Edward, so he was usually left as the odd man out when we had to play older roles. He was my brother and best friend through and through. I'm going to miss him so much." She said, the soft smile falling from her face as her mind likely went back to the fact that he was now gone. Gone because of what a person she considered to be a brother had done.

Harry gave a rueful smile at the two of us. "I'm here for less than half a year and already I have found two of the strongest girls I have met in a long time." He gave Alice a tighter hug and wrapped an arm around me as well. Alice and I snuggled into his sides a little more to take in the feeling of comfort he exuded.

After a few moments he clears his throat, "As much as I enjoy being a pillow for you two beautiful ladies, We are already quite late for the scheduled dinner time with Chief Swan. You two get yourselves cleaned up while I give Charlie a call and let him know we are running a few minutes behind schedule. Off you go, and be quick about it." He stated as he pulled us both us to a standing position with him and he gave us a light nudge towards the hallway. "The bathroom is down the hall and on your left."

Alice and I make our way down the hallway and she leans into me slightly. I wrap my arm around her and lay my head against hers. For now, all past hurts are forgotten. Things today had been to much of a whirlwind to hold onto such things. My sister and I were hurting because of the actions of one person, Edward. Victoria was just added to the mix of craziness, but I wasn't going to mourn her passing.

Alice and I only took a few minutes to get our faces cleaned up and looking presentable again. Alice jokingly made a few comments about my choice of clothes, but there was a somber tone to her voice. Her and Jasper were likely two of the closest people I had ever met. Alice told me that they were married, but that could have just been for convenience like she had explained. I wasn't really sure and didn't think that now was really the best time to ask, I figured I could ask sometime later on down the road.

We were walking back to the living room area when she bumped into me playfully. "It was for convenience sake. We were never really lovers, since our bond didn't really work like that. It was just like...almost like having a twin I guess, there is just that level of closeness that you can have as long as you don't fight over too many things. We never really fought because of our two gifts. There was just a level of understanding that no one else could compare to in the family. Unlike what you probably think, Edward can only hear the thoughts of the people around him, not the tenor of them, or the emotion behind them. So if he and I were to get into an argument, he could only tell what I was thinking from a literal sense. He couldn't get a feel for what emotions were tied to those thoughts. He couldn't read my feelings.

"The best way I can think to explain it is like reading the binary code that computers use. You can get the information stored there if you can decipher it, but you can't tell if there is sarcasm, or love tied to it. You would have to read more code that relates back to that topic to be able to get an idea of the emotions that are tied to it. Take a text message for example. I can send the words "Billy fell into a well." But is that a text of excitement because he has been a jerk to me in the past, or is that one of worry because Billy is a really good friend of mine. There are so many ways to interpret that information, especially since your mind takes it at face value and then interprets in its own way before adding in the thought of how the sender would react to that information. Make sense?"

I nod, having never really thought about Edwards gift all that much.

"All that to say, Jasper and I fit together great, but there was never really that spark of passion between us to have it be anything more than extremely great friends." Alice finished simply as we came into the living room.

Harry walked out of the kitchen to greet us and gave a soft smile before offering us the coats that were hanging next to the front door. "It is a little chilly outside, and even if you don't need it Alice, it will be best to keep up appearances." He stated easily with a smile and Alice accepted the coat gratefully. He helped her slip into her coat before doing the same for me. He opened the door for us and held it as we walked out before turning around to lock the door.

"Wait...when did you repair the door?" I ask him with a confused look on my face. I distinctly remember Victoria blasting through the door.

Harry looked at the door for a few moments and then spoke, "You were asleep for a while. I had enough time to change it while you were resting."

I accepted the explanation easily, figuring if there did end up being more to it, I would figure it out in time, like I had with Ed—Alice's family. We left the house and made it to the diner we were scheduled to meet Charlie at and sat down in the restaurant at the table he had saved for us. Charlie's eyes were fighting a battle between joy and suspicion when he saw Alice, she had always been his favorite of the Cullens, but settled for happy when he heard that Edward would not be returning also.

The light-hearted and mundane conversation to be had from Charlie was refreshing to the trio after the hectic afternoon and evening of supernatural and death.

Charlie's eyes were alight with happiness as he watched the three of us interact like old friends. I had to admit that it did feel good to laugh and joke again. The dinner seemed to end just a little too soon however and I was sad as we all stood after paying for the meal. I gave my dad a quick hug and explained that Alice and I would be going back to Harry's house to do some more catching up and give Harry and Alice a chance to get to know each other.

Our trio reached Harry's house once again and Harry put on a pot of hot water for tea and then settled in with Alice and I on the couch. The conversation stayed mostly in the natural realm of the world but we did backfill on some of the history between myself and the Cullen family. What I hadn't already explained at least. By the time we finished up with that, I was getting sleepy so Harry offered me a place to sleep in his spare bedroom.

Giving Alice a long hug, happy that she was around again, and giving one to Harry, thankful for his help, I went off to the room and fell asleep quickly. The nightmares returned with a vengeance though and it wasn't long until I woke up with Harry and Alice on either side of me. Alice was running her fingers through my hair, her cool fingers feeling wonderful on my burning head while Harry dabbed at my sweat-covered forehead with a damp cloth. I turned and snuggled into Harry while Alice wrapped her cold arms around me.

My last thought before drifting off into a night of restful sleep was how much this reminded me of the movies where a child climbs into bed with her parents during a storm at night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Harry POV

* * *

Dinner with Charlie had been enjoyable. Both girls had really relaxed around the man and had fallen into light conversation with him easily. Alice was also a pure delight to engage in conversation. Her optimism and personality made it very easy to just talk to, with nothing held back for worry of judgment or mean-spirited teasing.

When we went back to my house and drank a few cups of tea while talking a little more, but there seemed to be a building tension within Alice that she was likely only keeping under wraps since Bella was awake. Her eyes were strained and glanced at me a few times with a worn look to her face. Bella ended up calling it a night and she had barely left the room before I had my attention focused completely on Alice. The small vampire had curled in on herself and was rocking slightly. She looked up and I saw the same pained expression on her face and a questioning look was mixed into it all. I nodded and she quickly stood up and walked over next to me.

"Will you hold me?" She asked in such a small, vulnerable voice that my heart instantly went out to her. I stood and wrapped her protectively in my arms. Trying to encompass her in a feeling of comfort and strength.

Her shoulders began shaking once more and she gave a dry, humorless laugh through her sorrow. "Probably never knew us heartless monsters could even feel this, huh?"

I drop my arms and take a step back. "Is that truly what you think of yourself? Do you think the of your family? That you all are monsters? Heartless monsters at that?"

She sat herself down on the couch I had just vacated and placed her head in her hands, running her hands through her short hair and musing it up slightly before shaking it back into place, "Yes...no. I-I don't know what to think right now. I mean, we are vampires, beings who need to DRINK BLOOD to survive, and then we all up and leave that wonderful girl that is sleeping in your spare bedroom without a single goodbye other than my stupid brother's spiel about 'you're not good enough for me and you'll never see us again.' And to continue about my _brother_...he...he goes and k-kills Jaz a-and...and then attacks the rest of the family, his other brother an sister."

Her eyes were shinning from the years that would never fall as she continued, "He was around us for around a hundred years and was usually a great guy. Or I thought so, but then he snaps with barely any notice and now he is..." Her voice trails off.

I watch her for a few moments before turning away and walking to a bookshelf I had. I skimmed them over and pulled a few off the shelves. They were the mundane texts I had been able to get on short notice, a rather common selection truly, but it had what I was looking for. A dictionary. I quickly flip through the dictionary and find what I'm looking for. "Hmm, monster...monster, ah! Monster, typically a large, ugly, frightening creature or beast. An inhumanely cruel or wicked person. Now lets push personal feelings to the side for a second. Would you call Esme a monster?" I get a negative shake of her head at that, "Would you call Emmett a monster? Or Carlisle, or Rosalie?" She shakes her head again.

I carelessly toss the dictionary off to one of the side couches and move back to Alice. I kneel down in front of her and take her hands in mine. Her head is still drooped towards her lap and I use one of our joined hands to lift her face up so that she was looking at me. "So your family members are not monsters. What makes you think that _you_ are?"

I don't ask anything else and watch her face as she works through that question. I could tell from some of the ways she reacted to statements from Bella, Charlie or myself, that she was very upset with herself and was beating herself up about many things. This wasn't going to be something she worked through in a night and things would be perfect again. The three things she listed as reason 'her family' were monsters, are things she is dealing with. They weren't things I could wave my wand for and make things perfect in her life again. I wish I could, but it is unfortunately not possible, nor would they all be corrected with one thing. Accepting the fact that her and her family left Bella would be the first thing she would have to forgive herself for. Then accepting that she is a vampire and her life would forever be changed because of that would have to be the next step, and then getting her grounded so she didn't follow her brother's madness. He probably would have been fine if there had been a person to stand beside him like Esme did for Carlisle, or Rosalie for Emmet, or her for Jasper and all that vis-versa. Having that companion grounded them and helped them get through all those tough times. Edward didn't really have anyone and it was likely what ended up breaking him.

An emotional battle raged just below the surface, but was still quite visible in her expressions. She tried to begin speaking a few times, but finally stopped and just sat there, looking at me with an almost lost expression. I decided to speak again. "You will likely brush it off, because you are dealing with so much pain and self-hatred right now, but let's look at just the definition once more for monster. First was large." I look her up and down with a small, soft smile on my face, "Yeah, you definitely do not meet that criteria." She gave a small chuckle and a mock glare at me; I made a show of checking off an imaginary box on a checklist.

"Next, ugly. As an old man once told me many years ago, 'No, no, definitely not.' There isn't any hesitation in my mind, and likely not any other male's mind, that you are a gorgeous being. Short, dark hair, a great body and physique, and your personality, kindness, and love of life showcases your inner beauty which is even more important." She looks up embarrassedly and gives a small huff at me.

I chuckle and continue on, "Now I'm sure you can be frightening in your own right when angered, or when you're hunting, or in danger. But to friends, to innocent people, you are not frightening in a malevolent manner. They are scared to be on the opposite side of you probably, but they are not worried that you will kill them or stab them in the back. They know that you have way too much love in your being to contemplate that. If you are an enemy to them? They certainly should watch out, but otherwise the only thing they should be scared of you is your shopping trips. Bella has told me stories."

Another mock glare is sent my way though a small smile is starting to creep its way onto her face. "Come here, little one." I state and open my arms. A playful scowl covers her face as she moves forward and wraps herself around me, holding on tightly. "Nice words will make you feel better, but I can't change your mind with kind words. You have to make the decision to forgive yourself for what you have done. I don't know if you noticed, but Bella didn't seem to hold much of a grudge against you.

"Will she be the happiest person in the world again now that you are back? Probably not immediately unless she is faking it; but does she forgive you? Yes. Does she still love you? Yes. But it will still hurt for a while. It is the same with what you are going through. There is pain and self-hate and all these other things that you will have to deal with, but if there is anything I have learned about you and Bella over the course of the day, it is that both of you are strong young ladies, and I know you both will be able to overcome all this stuff that is going on right now.

She buries her face into my neck and shoulder area and nods, some sniffling here and there. She leans back and places a light kiss on my cheek before settling her head on my shoulder once more. I move us to the couch and we stay there for a few minutes, Alice adjusted herself to get more comfortable, but mostly stayed on my lap and I never loosened my arms from her for long.. We sat mostly in silence until Bella began making noise from her room while she slept. It was easy to hear her tossing and turning in bed with a few mutters and soft cries every once in a while.

Alice gripped me harder as she heard these noises and kept her face buried in my neck. I felt her cool breath play over my skin there and slight shivers ran down my spine in response, but I pushed them away for the time being. "We really messed her up when we left...didn't we?"

I gave her a tighter hug for a few seconds, but answered, "Yes. She will have a tough time of it for a little while longer, but I think between having you back and her starting to actually talk about what all was going on with her during that time, it will speed up the recovery. I am terrified to think of what measures she would have resorted to for her to find some kind of release and how bad her depression could have become if no one had been around. Not to toot my own horn by any means, but the simple fact of someone having a person they can talk to with no restrictions is absolutely freeing."

We both made our way into the room when she didn't start to quiet down but got louder instead. I went to get a rag wet while Alice lay down next to her and began stroking her hair gently. I returned and woke her for a few moments to get her out of the dream. She was awake for only a minute while I was clearing the sweat from her forehead before snuggling into me while Alice wrapped the girl up in her arms protectively. Alice and I whispered softly for a few hours about different things before we reached the topic of our pasts.

"So where all have you been? Bella said you mentioned that you travelled a lot." Alice asked when the topic was started.

"I've been all over the place. My parents died when I was young and left me a ton of money. I didn't know about it until I finished up at the school they wanted me to go to and I had the freedom to go wherever I wanted. I traveled for years, visiting historical sites, places of government, and sat a couple years under various teachers of fighting styles. It has been very exciting and time consuming, but also very lonely at times."

"My family moved a lot. We never stayed in a place for more than a few years and then we would move off and start over. Makes sense though, right. Never aging people around can cause problems…but even with my adoptive family, it could still be lonely, not having people outside of the family knowing about our true selves, and then the friends that we do make end up dying after a few decades." Alice said softly. "My best friend was Jasper and when we had to play older roles, he would be my 'husband' since it was easiest to keep us in the family like that."

Alice was still stroking her hand up and down Bella's shoulder as the girl slept. "When we first came here, I saw myself meeting someone. I didn't know who they were going to be, but they ended up becoming my best friend. When Bella showed up, I knew it was her that was from the visions. I had wanted to get closer to her, but Edward had always been holding me back. He said that he needed to get her used to the idea before we all made connections to see if she could even handle it. It was not what I wanted, but I thought that he was just looking out for the family. I'm not so sure anymore though…"

I gave her arm a light squeeze and we fell silent for a short time. It sounded like there was more going on with the family than they thought. This Edward guy sounded a bit like Dumbledore…a person that seems to have your best interest at heart, until you start trying to think for yourself. Alice spoke up after a little while with a question I had been expecting to come at some point.

"So what are you exactly? I know there is more to me not being able to see you than just because of that pendant. I don't mean to pry…too much at least. If you don't want to talk about it right now though I can live with that. I know what it is like not being sure if you can trust the people around you." Alice explained and I thought about it.

I tightened my grip on Bella as she shivered in her sleep for a few moments. I looked down at the girl in my arms and try to find where a balance can be. I doubt either of the girls would tell someone else about what I can do, and I'm not even sure if a Ministry of Magic or the Statute of Secrecy here or not. I give a soft sigh, _might as well have a couple people around me that can understand some of the things I can do…_

"I am a wizard." I state simply and leave it at that to see how she reacts.

"As in…like, magic? Real magic?" She asked in a soft, excited voice.

"Yes, as in…" I wave my hand and focus on making a bouquet of flowers. The magic in my hand builds and then almost pops before a bundle of flowers appear in my grasp. I hand them over to Alice, "Real magic."

A gasp escaped from Alice's lips as she looked at and smelled the flowers I had conjured for her, "So no wand? Or staff?"

I let a small laugh slip through my lips. "Most people do have to use one of those items, or another magical focus item that is tuned to them. I have had enough years of practice at focusing my mind that I don't have to use one any more. I also had a few different items that joined with my magical core, which made many things much easier. I had an item that was known by most as an invisibility cloak, but was, according to legend, a piece of Death's cloak.

"That is likely the reason you can't see me in your 'visions'. It somehow joined with my core and I have found that I can become fully invisible without needing to actually cast a spell. That, and possibly a the fact that I have mental defenses that keep people out of my mind." I finished explaining and Alice got a confused but cute look on her face.

"I don't think your mental protections do much, I mean, they could, but Edward can't read Bella's mind for some reason, and we think it is because she has a shield around her mind." Alice argued softly.

I hummed gently before reaching out mentally to test these 'protections'. It didn't take long for me to find her mind and I searched around the young woman's mind while she slept and found that she did indeed have some kind of barrier there as protection. It was not very strong and did not block everything out, but there was some kind of protection. I allowed my brows to furrow slightly in confusion as I continued to look around the mindscape.

"Alice, try and look at Bella's future for me. I want to see if there is any kind of interaction here that I could see." I asked Alice softly. I could feel her nod in response as her short hair flipped over my arm before small stream of fog appear a short distance away from where I was 'standing'. I backed up some to try to not let my presence be noticed to the point that it would interfere with anything. I watched with a smile slowly forming on my face as the barriers surrounding Bella's mind opened just enough to let the stream of fog in.

The fog pulled back and Alice squeezed my hand gently, "It worked like it always has, Harry."

I allowed my mind to run free for a moment before moving my mental probe a little closer to the barrier and asked Alice to try it again. This time I followed the fog to the barrier and saw that no hole formed in the barrier this time. Alice gave a small gasp confirming that she had failed to see the human girl's future that time. A smile of understanding crossed my face while I pulled back away from Bella's mind and opened my eyes to look over at the extremely attractive vampire.

"She trusts you, even subconsciously…and it sounds like she has for quite a while. Her barriers around her mind opened just enough for your mental powers to connect with her mind. I doubt anything else could get in along side of it or instead of it. The second time I had you try it, I was right next to the barrier around her mind. It didn't open that time but I would bet that if I were trying to get into her mind constantly while you were trying to check her future, her mind would slowly adapt to me being there and start letting you in again as long as I wasn't able to see in also. Did you have very many visions of Bella when she first showed up?" I questioned, trying to figure out if most of the assumptions I had made were correct, or even plausible.

Alice only seemed to think for a few seconds before she responded. "No, I didn't have very many of her, then again, I didn't have very many of _just_ her until after I had spoken with her a few times. I didn't have a need to just look for her."

I hummed in thought, "Well something about your interaction with her caused her to trust you, since then it has built to absolute trust in you that her mind welcomes you so quickly."

We laid in silence for a few minutes, only the light, even and calm breathing from Bella keeping the room from being completely still. I was impressed with the show of gifting from Bella, even more so since I hadn't really noticed that she had a barrier around her mind. It would be like someone having a picket fence up with some space between the boards running vertical. You could see in, but you could not squeeze inside and get everything. To some extent, there was no way for me to read her thoughts, but I could see her mind, and some memories. It was all very confusing to be honest and I wasn't too sure how soon I would be able to get this interesting situation worked out.

Alice pulled me from my thoughts as she spoke once more. "Harry?"

"Yes, Alice?" I responded with a small smile.

A moment's hesitation preempted the question from the normally playful vampire and my face settled into a more serious expression, "What you did with Bella, just a little bit ago…would you be able to see her thoughts?" Alice questioned softly.

I rubbed Alice's hand gently where it was resting on Bella's arm before answering. "From what you have told me of your brother, my skill works a little differently. I can read thoughts, but I can also look at memories, feel emotions, sense a person's intent, and tell if they are lying or not about something. I don't use it very often and I have full control over it. But if there is a person that is causing problems or putting people in danger, I will use it to see if there is a way to stabilize the situation without needing to fight.

"I hate invading people's privacy unless I have to, and even then I don't really enjoy it. However, it can be very useful in different situations. I haven't used it on you if you are worried about that. If I did, it would feel like this…" I finished speaking and lightly moved towards Alice's mind. I didn't want to scare her that I was going to force my way into her inner sanctuary, so I moved close enough to her mind to be felt but not to actually see anything. The vampire's mind reminded me some of Hermione's mind slightly. I had tested her occlumency for her after she learned the mental protection. It was very well organized and situated from what I could see where I had stopped, but that might have just been a perk of being a vampire. There was nothing at all keeping me from moving into her mind to look through her memories, but I didn't want to upset her. I watched as things moved about her mindscape quickly and marveled at just how fast she was able to process things and have perfect recall on memories. He wasn't sure, however, if that was common among all vampires or not though.

I pulled my mind away from her and opened my eyes once more to look at Alice. "I did not look at anything in your mind, that was just me getting to the border of your consciousness."

Alice gave a small nod and a half smile, but a serious expression came over her face once more and I leaned up to look at her fully. Alice looked up into my eyes and gave a small sigh. "Can you…search a mind? Like…" She paused for a second and gave another sigh. "I have no memory of what my life was like before I was turned to a vampire.

"I have recently learned that my name was Mary Alice Brandon and I grew up in Biloxi, Mississippi. I had a little sister named Cynthia. Her daughter - my niece - is still alive in Biloxi... I went through all the old newspapers on microfiche. My family wasn't mentioned often; they weren't part of the social circle that made the papers. My parents' engagement was there, and Cynthia's. My birth was announced... and my death. I found my grave…" She gave a humorless, half-chuckle and paused for a moment. "I also filched my admissions sheets from the old asylum archives. The date on the admission and the date on my tombstone are the same…but aside from that, I have nothing… I can't even remember what my family looked like."

Her voice choked off on the last part and watched her for a moment, pair tearing at my heart. I motioned for her to come closer to me and she gently let go of Bella and carefully maneuvered over to the opposite side of me from the sleeping human. I rolled slightly so that I was on my back and the two girls snuggled deeper into my chest, an arm pinned under both of their bodies now as Bella tried to bet closer to the warmth, and Alice tried to get more comfort.

Soft, tearless sobs racked the pixie-like vampires body. I made soothing noises as I gently ran my fingers through her hair, up and down her shoulder and back as she slowly let out her grief of not fully knowing who she was. I moved slightly and placed a kiss on the top of her head before beginning to whisper to her.

She calmed down slightly and I pushed her chin up slightly to where she was looking at me. "I will do my very best to help you remember your past. Memories are never gone, but they are often hidden. There actually is a spell that will repress and seemingly removed, but they can be found if a person is skilled enough. I will warn you, however, that there may likely be some you wish you could forget as soon as you get them back. I know there are plenty of memories that I wish I could completely do away with. At the same time though, I would not trade them for the world. Many of the hard, painful memories I have were the foundation that allowed me to become the person I am today."

She extended her face to me slowly and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. "Thank you." She whispered softly and her cool, sweet breath trickled over my face. She laid her head back on my shoulder and began lightly tracing invisible designs on my chest. I turned and kissed her forehead and smiled as she looked up at me.

She snuggled into my side and continued her imagined art, trailing from my chest to my face. Her cold fingers leaving chilled, ghost lines when her chilled skin came into contact with my warmer skin. I let my eyes slowly close as I focused completely on her finger. She began to slowly drag her finger only across my face, leaving a sensation somewhere between an itch and tickle as she circled my eyes and mouth. She giggled softly when my face twitched at the sensation and after a few times would lean up and kiss wherever her finger had been when my face reacted.

She shifted to where she was half covering me and continued her little game as a smile grew on my face. Her love of life was contagious and, even more so, inspiring. She had so much that she could focus on that would leave most people in a crying heap for days, but she was able to focus away from that for a short time after she had let her emotions loose. My arm and hand was now free enough that I could gently stroke her cheek. She leaned into my hand and we just watched each other for a few minutes.

Her lips moved gently and I heard her soft whisper, "I feel as though I have known you for ages. As though we have been together and been in love for decades…is it normal? Is it common that someone could feel as in love with a stranger like you as I do? I have experienced everything as a vampire my whole life, so tell me, do humans respond like this?" She questioned, the bewilderment and perplexity of her emotions showing openly on her face.

I pulled her close, trying to think of how to say this without it being misunderstood. "It is understandable. You have been through at least three major ordeals within the past three or four days and I just so happened to be here and have seemingly good answers for the things you are facing. Feeling deep appreciation, attraction, wonder, peace and maybe even love towards me or a stranger would be very common in a situation like yours, human or otherwise. You have been able to find some stability, reassurance and comfort with me. I may not have the correct or best answers for you, but they are helpful answers that you can use to get through all of this.

"While none of these may be life-threatening situations, aside from the one I suppose with Edward, they are life-changing for you. How you react to things from here on out will probably be changed because of the things that have happened. People that are around and helping you get through those kinds of situations are ones that you will bond with quickly, whether you have anything in common or not." I explain and slow slightly, trying to be sure that I was not misunderstood in what I was going to say next.

"Often times those relationships don't last because the people try to continue on at that same level of closeness without having the basis of the relationship defined." I make sure she is looking directly at me before continuing, "I don't want that to happen, if you don't mind. I would like to make sure our friendship is sturdy by the time all this passes. I really do care about you, and I am finding myself extremely attracted to you so I would prefer for us to not botch it up." I finish with a warm smile at her. Her eyes light up with understanding and she smiles back.

I glance over at the clock and look back at Alice. "If you don't mind, I am going to get a couple hours of rest and then we can talk some more."

She looked at me in confusion. "Once more, I don't remember being a human, but I have been around Bella enough to know that you humans need to sleep more than just a couple of hours to be able to function properly. Or at least get more sleep than that at some point over a few days."

I gave her a soft chuckle at the response, though I tried to limit my moving as much as I could with Bella snuggled into me. "I am not like most humans you have met, my dear. I have told some, but more can be explained later I suppose….always more to be told…" I trail off slightly. Alice shakes her head slightly and gives a humored smile.

She moves around on top of me a little more until she seems to get comfortable. A few seconds later, I feel a continuous vibrating feeling coming from around her chest and throat. I tilt my head to look at her unbelievingly. "Are you purring, Pixie?" I ask quietly.

She nods her head and I see her smile widely though she doesn't look at me. He arm tightens around my waist and I shake my head lightly before laying back and closing my eyes, letting the vibrations from Alice numb my mind until I lost consciousness.


End file.
